Poland and Belitic countries abandon the treaty that prohibits landmines in the face of Russian threat

A PolandEstonia, Latvia and Lithuania On Tuesday, 18 years, their withdrawal from the Ottawa conference, an international treaty that prohibits the use of anti -personality lands, claiming the need to enhance its defenses with Russia’s increase And your ally Belarus.

In a joint statement, the defense ministers in the four countries said that since the signing of the treaty, the security situation in the areas “has deteriorated significantly.”

Looking at this scenario, the ministers indicated that it is the “basic” guaranteeing their forces “flexibility and freedom of choice” to protect the eastern side from organizing the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO). All four countries are part of the NATO Alliance and shares the borders with Russia.

S. Utawa TreatyAlso known as the Minas Gerais Treaty, it entered into force in 1997. Its goal is to ban anti -character mines – those intended for humans – around the world, and was signed by more than 160 countries. But some great military forces, including China, India, Russia, Pakistan and the United States of AmericaThey have never signed. The Baltic countries signed the agreement in 2005, while Poland did the same in 2012.

The defense ministers wrote: “In light of these considerations, we unanimously recommend removing the Ottawa agreement. With this decision, we send a clear message: Our countries have been prepared and we can use all the necessary measures to defend our lands and our freedom.”

Commitment to humanitarian law

Despite the decision to abandon the Ottawa Agreement, the four countries confirmed that they are committed to international humanitarian laws, including civil protection during armed conflicts. “

“Our countries will continue to defend these principles while meeting our security needs,” they said in the statement.

Since the beginning of the great invasion of Ukraine By Russia, in 2022, the Baltic and Poland countries increased significantly from military spending and great support for Kyiv. According to the KIEL Institute for Global Economy, regarding GDP, these countries are among the largest donors with military support for Ukraine.

The possibility of sticking to Finland

In addition to the four countries, the latest member of Take Commitment to the agreement, Finland, said that he is also studying the idea of ​​leaving the treaty.

We studied closely how Russia works in Ukraine, specifically the tremendous use of pedestrians and mines – in December, the Minister of Defense said FinlandAntti häkkänen.

At the same time, Ukraine, signed for the Ottawa agreement, received land mines from USA For use in the war against Russia. The Ukrainian government has already told for him Which, due to the conflict, cannot guarantee that it will meet the treaty.

The United Nations estimates that Ukraine is currently the most country of the world’s mine workers. In addition, Article 20 of the Ottawa Agreement states that the country cannot withdraw from the treaty if it is in war.

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